Hand loom



Jan. 8, 1952 T. H. CLACK 2,582,008

HAND LOOM Filed May 5, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor Thomas H. (Hack gndig/W 5M- torneg Jan. 8, 1952 T. H. cLAcK 2,582,008

HAND Loom Filed May 5, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Thomas H. C lack MM?, W m g 14% Ja'n. s, 1952 T. H. cLAcK 2,582,008

HAND LOOM Filed May 5,' 1947 5 sheets-sheet :s

3rd/1% Mm f' zh/2% orneg Jan. 8, 1952 T, H CLACK 2,582,008

HAND LOOM Filed May 5, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 /Zo o 98% /ZZ L 1, L E, 'g Gt/80 l l m F62 I II /zo 88 OZ/00 o nventor ttorneg Jan. 8, 1952 T H. @LACK 2,582,098

HAND LOOM Filed May 5, 1947 5 Sheets-Seet 5 N@ VfG/15W Y' F59. 19 Fig. 15

:inventor Thomas f1. lack Gttorneg on the take-fup roller.

. beam.

Patented Jan. 8, 1952 UNITED STATES .ej-Pr am orme-.E

A jnAND LooM fzmmmasn. crack,- south .Numana conn. Application May f5, 1947; Serial No."`745,"958

' -iolaima- (o1. 139-.-33.)

This invention directed to f a' :hand yloom' of simple construction and operatiomandj torwhich attachments mayibe added so 'that `relatively ccmploated twill weaving cantbe-vdoneonta simple 100m.

v`Various attempts to constructa loom'ior hand weaving lhavelmet with the objections that either the loom was too .complicated and `cumbersome to be operatedA successfully byA an unskilled person; or the loomf-was of' such size'and'pro-por tions that only a'narrow strip of material,` such as a scarfl oratie, could be woven. .ilnithe lat.` ter instance; only'the `simplest basket weave lcould be made. Previous .attempts to construct a loom for hand Weaving in which more 'elaborate'patterns are desired, suchfasftwills; have required that a harness be'built for the loom .in-order that' the'multipl-e heddles could bev operated. A further objection to the heretofore-.known 'hand looms has :been that, owing to the construction ofthe loom, only a small amount of cloth could be woven before the cloth had-tobe `rolledxup All theses factors 'have made 4the construction of hand loom-sexpensive, awkward and too complicated` to be used as practical household items.

It is an vobject of .the instant invention to con-- struct `a 'hand loom which is' inexpensive 'and' uncomplicated. 'Another objectcfthe invention is 4to construct a'handloom which `does not need' a harness in o-rderto operate a' multiple heddle inV the weaving of various patterns. vAiurther-ob'f ject of the invention isv to construct a hand loom in which the correctcontact joint .oi-.the beater can be maintained as therclothfgrows .upon the beam so that the-necessity' for-'taking up the cloth isnot done.: as often as.is'thc case'with' ordinary looms. v

Other objects of -the inventionare ...to construct the heddles and reeds so that thedentscan be assembled according to the size owarp being` used and .type of-cloth desiredyto constructfa loom which can be shippedin'knockdown'form and assembled-:by the operator .off the loomigaand to provide simplified means foi-fthe laylngout oi'.l

the warp"i and Winding. the.' same uponr "thezwarpT which theweaving frame. may :be ltilted fromalv horizontal into: a vertical-- storage* space savingsif position withoutl removing the warp fromy they tem or by treadles; to weavefa. piece'of .cloth .by hand` 1so that the operator'zcancwatch" the cloth grow. for a .considerabierdstance without having to-reach too. far to'pass fthe shuttle through the shed; and to provideat simple loomfnpon which baskeizrrweaves,y twills andzforiental rugs may be woven by hand.

`'Grenzerall-y,'these objects tof thelinvention are obtained .by mounting' a rectangular weaving iraaneupon two standards so t-hat the frame'may abe .tilted -u'p and down. 'Ihewarp lstretched between; *the vwarp beam; and "cloth beam passes through heddles'and a reed which are :supported byaswords secured; to lthe' lbaseY ofF the4 standards. The heddles may swing `with the reed as 'the weft isbeaten-.up It has ibeendiscovered that -this construction enables .a'shed-z .to :be formed kwhen the weaving .frame is tilted vand the reedperforms' thedual function "of a beater andheddle. When a- Isimplewreed used and multiple movableheddles are supported upon the swords along with the,` reed, .the tilting 'of the Weaving' frame allows the-plane offthe cloth to stay centered with respect to', the horizontal-'center kline of the reed sothatthe weftlmay'be'beaten up. A's'the cloth grows, the shed can be maintained at anade# cloth v-being woven. v

- These-,andotherobjects yof the invention may be more fullyunderstood nconnection with the accompanying drawings in'which:

Fig. 1 is a: perspective view. of the loom;

f lig.- 271s ardiagrammatic View of the loom when formed vwith the heddle and'reed combined ina single unit: f v

llfig. 3l isa View. similar to FigJZ; showing the formation *ofl a shed '-by the uptilting -of the Fig..V arista view/similar tofFigJfZ; showing the formation; of a counter-shed :bythe vdowntilting' ofthe Weaving frame;.

" Fisk-.5 is' a cross-sectionalview-of the loomv of Fig. .1;

.Fg.;.6 is a' ,frontfview of a-portion ofia heddle as seenon the yline 6-6 of Fig;f5;

l"Fig:7i-isa. top plan viewofaportion-of Fig.'5;

l Fgt-.8V a front elevational view; exaggerated in size;A ot adent;

Fig. 16 is a diagrammatical view showing the shed obtained when the weaving frame is ina horizontal plane;

Fig. 17 is a view similar to Fig. '16,' but showing the variation in the depth off theshed as the cloth grows;

Fig. 1a is a similar view, but showing the inv crease in depth of the shed obtained by tilting the weaving frame; and

Fig. 19 is a diagrammatical view following Fig.

` showing a modified form of my invention.' l

. Generally, my invention consists of a weaving frame A composed of side rails 2 andl 4 -joined at one end by a warp beam E, and at the other end by a cloth beam B to complete the frame. The warp and cloth beams may be mounted in slots I 8 cut in the ends of the side rails and clamped in said slots by bolts with wing nuts I2. The

side vrails are pivotally mounted to the upright.

standards B at a'point about one-third the distance from the cloth beam 8 to the warp beam 6, and this pivotal vmounting may be in the form oi' a bolt and wing nutfastener I4, so that the frictional engagement between the Arailsand the standards B can be adjusted.

StandardsB Vare supported'upon feetC and are braced-by a cross member D. Pivotally secured to lfeet C at a point which lies approximately beneath the midpoint between pivot point I 4 and warp beam 6 are swords E, which' are secured bya bolt and wing nut I 6 to the footings C and are joined by a cross brace F. The upper ends ofthe swords E support blocks I8 which hold areed and heddles 22 and 24.

Mounted on the warp beam is astrip of metal 38, having tongues 32 bent over the top of the warp beam 6, Ynote Figs. 5 and 12. A warp thread 36 is caught under a tongue 32' and threaded through heddles 22 and 24, through reed 20 and secured to the cloth beam 8 by any convenient means, such as by a similar strip 30. The Ysimplest embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figs. 2 to 4 in Which the reed and heddle arecombinedinto a single structure which functions both toseparate the warp in forming the shed and to 'beat up the weft. Such a structure is disclosed in the United States patent to F. J; Booze, No; 688,500,v patented December 10, 1,901I However-,in such patent and in the prior art, .1t was necessary to move the reed and heddle vertically in order to form the shed. To the contrary, in the invention illustrated in'FigsQZ to 4, the reed and heddle ZI is rigidly xed to the swords Ev and is'movable with the swinging of the swords to-beat up rthe weft. When the weav-` ing frame A is slightly inclined as in Fig'. 2, no shedexists. When the cloth `beam 8 is pushed upwardly as in Fig. 3, a shed G appearslthis bemgproduced .by reason of the longer lever'arm between the standard B .and the warp beam 6' giving a relatively-great arcuate movement tothe movable warp strands in the heddle upon a relatively slight movement of the cloth-@amy 4 After the shuttle has been passed through the shed, the weaving frame A is moved to the position of Fig. f2, and the swords E swung toward the cloth beam 8, by manually grasping the reedheddle 2| and pulling it toward the cloth beam in order to beat up the weit. The cloth beam is then depressed as shown in Fig. 4 to form the counter-shed, the shuttle passed through the shed, frame A leveled, and the weft beaten up as beforef Wights W lare provided for adjacent cloth beam 8 to counterbalance the weight of the frame, the amount of weight being lessened as the cloth grows on the cloth beam side of the frame A.

are eliminated and weaving accomplished by the three simple manual movements of tilting the frame, passing the shuttle through the shed and swinging the reed and heddle to beat up the weit. Considerable cloth can be Woven before there is need towind it up uponthe cloth beam. By moving .thereedandheddle 2I adjacent standards B and then swinging the warp beam 8 downf wardly,l frame A can assume a substantially vertical position for storage purposes without .the necessity ofremoving the Warp from lthe frame.

The ,use of a vsingleheddle permits only the weaving of a simple basket weave. It is possible to'obtain more elaborate weaves, such as twills, by a plurality of heddles `andvwithout the neces,x sity ofn'using a complicated harness andtreadle. As illustrated in-Figs.l l and 5,V this elaborated` form of the' invention employs the same tiltable frame A and swords E. However, a conventional reed andv multiple heddles are substituted for the combined reed and heddle unit of Figs/2, 3 and 4. Aspreviouslystated in the description of Fig. 1, the upper ends of the swords E support f. blocks I 8in which a plurality of heddlesmay be mountedfof which, forpurposes of example only, twoare shown.

In this embodiment of the invention,l swords E are pivoted tothe base C so that the horizontal'` center-line of the reed will substantially coincide with the pivotal axis of frame A as the swords are vmoved toward the cloth beam l8. As the shed is to be formedby the vertical displacement ofthe heddleanca tilting'. ottheframe is necessary ior this function.' Howeveriin order te beat up the weft nthe .approximate lierizontal center liiie of .the `reed Vshould f contact they weft in moving;v it toward the Cloth beam. Asshown by the dotted line position of the frame and swcrdsin Fig. 5vv this isjiaccomplished" by pushing' the cloth beam 8 downwardly so y:that theplane of the frame is substantially tangent to the arc formed by the movement of the horizontal center line of the reed'.` Thus the reed and 4frame are always relatively positonable so that the weft can be beat upiir'mly into the cloth from the beginning of thelwe'aving until as muchv cloth as possible has been woven on the frame.`

Blocky I8 is of L shape, the upper leg 50 being.

provided witha plurality of grooves 52, 54. and 56,` vnote. Fig. '7, and the'lower leg 58 being pro'- vided with sockets 80, note Fig. 6. Groove52 is adaptedto receive `reed 28 which is removably xed in the groove in any conventional manner.

Grooves 54 and 56 are adapted to receive ver' tically slideable hedd1es22 and 24. Respectively mounted in `grooves54 and Stare corrugated springy members 62 secured to block I8 at theirA upper ends and .free at the lower ends, the corrugetins, iunctioning; as resilient stops cooperan-i ing @with f stops forif'detents' cor'istitutedl by iarlug 54 lmounted on the v:end-of the respective iheddle'. Handles 681 aren-securedv :to vthe heddles :so that these heddles may be adjusted vertically. AThus, for: purposes :of Iillustration zinFig; 5, Ihe'ddle22 is shown in` `its maximum upper `position'while heddlei24 is. in its lowest position. .The relative position of theheddleszat any `instant depends upon'the shed Vbeingformed to weavefa v given pattern. Coil springs In .mounted-in' sockets,W 6@ serve tocounterbalance the weightzof, the heddles and :contributev to 1 the'` easei offmoving :the same..

fxFrom t .this construction, Ait :is :apparent:` that after 4the-warp 36'has .been threaded through the heddles, the shed may be created't-by-.thefraising or .lowering :of :various :combinations of vwarp threads' to give patterns: other than the-comen, tional basket weave. V

j Inthepreferred mannerof; operatingtthe .'loorn, the shedis formed only by vdepressing'the heddles from: :their centered position in the springsmem bers-.62. Assuming heddle 22 tozbeoinxcentered position,tthenfheddle. 24 will be .manually-ade pressed Ak.to :form a shed G. After the. shuttle has` been-passed through the shed; the `swords E arezaswung toward the cloth beam Sito-beat up the '@weft. However, 'at thisv time 4it is r necessary that allvthe heddles 4be in neutral :position: and centered :with respect tothe reed 20. V.Conse# quently, :ari cam H' supported by;v rods 1 I secured to crosszbeam `D :isopo'sitionedzto: camzagainstzthe bottoms of. the-heddles and move them"intoxcen tered "position as thereed lisA swung: forwardly. Under 1 certain conditions, fas .when .large :warp threads are being used, it may be desirable `to increasethedepth of shed, and in such instance the heddle 22 may be raised to the upper notched position as shown in" Fig;v This heddle will then be manually -depressed as the reedfis swung forwardly. When the reed isswung backL from the beating-up function, the counter-shed is formed by'manuallydepressingthe'reed 22, the reed/24 remaining in centeredz'zposition, or ii'desired, raisedV -toV create a deeper' shed. Although only twoheddleshavebeen illustratd, itis clear that the numberof heddles can 'be increased and jected :into-'a horizontal mange 93l and :theninto an upperwardly extending flange 98, which parallelftoilango BS. Similarly, thelowerend of flange 94 is `projected into z a' horizontalfilange I 00: and downwardlyextending flange |02. .1 The reedf or lhecldlei frame is rvformed :in the shape fof a-.pair .of similar channels I0 'forming the :upper and lowermembers of the frame-and each pro-.- videdfwith:A an .inwardlyrturned flange I l2.V Y.The ends'of -these channels are joined by side members ||4 touwhichzsthe 1ugs.64 are secured.

vAfter aset'rof :dents ofproper size has. been selected:v the individual dents are inserted into channels: I I0,1-the:ilanges I |21terminating short of the' end-members. I I4 soithat the dents maybe inserted. "The .dents aresplaced withythelange's 90' and 92."contac'tingA and sliding' along `the inner surfacesv of flanges I I2l onI channels Il 0, landA the dents-fiareaspaced' properly -by 'means ioil ilanges 'abutting ilanges on adjacent' dents. These lastsnamed`;'flanges. likewise contact the inner surfaces ofVV the "channels I l0 andV serve to' main# tain V.the dents in position. After the dents: have been assembled, they arel secured against dise linsertedfinithe channels |I0'at the'endpf the that they .can be successively operated inaccordance with 'the pattern to be woven.

'Fonpurposes of hand weaving, it is desirable that the operator can set. upthe loomv for warp of Idiferent coarseness and to be '-.ableto weave different types of Yclothby varying fromftim'e to time the .number .of .Warpz threads per inch; all dependingupon thesizeof. .the ywarp being used and type of cloth desired... morder-that this maybe done, the reed and'heddleslare constructed with removable dents, andthe dents themselves are of'simple self-spacing construction-[andi can be made in varying sizessoth'at a particular set can be tted into the reed or heddle frame for the particular size warp or the desired number of warp threads per inch. In Figs. 8 to 10, the dent is constructed of sheet metal bent to form, or of metal or plastic vcast to form, and consists of a face plate 80 having an aperture 82 therein through which a Warp thread is adapted to pass. This face plate is reinforced by 'a rst rearwardly extending flange 84 which is projected at 86 above, and 88 below, the face plate 80 to provide extensions to ilt in the holding frame. The face plate 80 is provided with a horizontally outwardly projecting upper flange 80 and a similar lower ilange 92. A second flange 94 extends rearwardly from the face plate 80 parallel to flange 84. The upper end of this flange is prov hereof 1 warp .threads needed to *.make 'a piece of clothfcftianyi appreciable width. "j In vorder to fa.- cilitate 1 thev setting' 'upkof `the warp for.:hand looms, a rack R, Fig. 13, has beenrdevised. This rack `consists' of` a 'number of'imembers |40, '|42 and I 44 :.-pivotally joined `at their :ends Aso fvthat the r rack fcan `be ifolded into :a compact fpile. If desiredgthe rack members canbe secured togetherf-rby'b'olts''provided-fwith -wing -nutsv |45, soilthat. it l:can Ibe veasilyx disassembled; Members |44r ofthisrackere detachably secured to-warp beam LIS of fweaving frame A. The other end Maf-.of the rack is provided with'av warp holding striapS-similar toithat shown' in Fig. 122 Con# sequently, when the rack is in assembled VYor'open positioniand .laid y.out in arroom `on thefloor, orwsupported upontables orv chairs,"the-Warp threadsf* can be `strung out between the -warp beam-iiizand the end member |48'. After "the warp-1 threads'. have been set. up, they "can" be de` tached from .the-member I 48 and .the warpvb'eam rotated so as to wind the warp'threadsthreon. "iThereef-end f the -warp threadsQ-'fwhich have been'detached fromA member |48, are then available v'to :be threaded if through the' heddles and ther'eed'and ysecured uponlthe cloth "beam ready for the =Weavingprocess. *In the mean; while',fthe rack Rcan 'be' taken down and "dis4 assembled. v

Because the invention contemplates the weaving of a piece of cloth of considerable width as compared with the hand looms which merely weave strips of cloth for neckties or scarves, it is desirable to have a hand shuttle S which can be passed easily through the shed and which carries its own supply of weft in somewhat the manner of machine operated shuttles. Such a shuttle is shown in Figs. 14 and 15, and consists of a lightweight cylinder |55 closed at its fore end by a blunt nose cap |52 and at its rear end by a cap |54 provided with an aperture |56. The interior of the shuttle carries a cop |58 constituting the weft supply, the weft I beingV pulled out of the Shuttle through the aper- 1311!'8156. i' 'ii In Figs'. 16 to18, an additional function of the tilting ofthe frame A, when multiple heddles are being used,y is illustrated diagrammatically. This consists inusing they tilting of the frame to keep a shed deep enough to pass the shuttle through even though the cloth has grown to a considerable extent uponthe frame A. Fig. 16 discloses the frame A in horizontal position prior to the beginning of the weaving with the shuttle indicated at S passing through the shed G. In Fig'. 17, the cloth 4U has grown from the beam 81to the'point P, and the depth rof the shed G correspondingly decreased, offering less room for `the passage-'of the shuttle S; In Fig. 18, the

cloth beam 8 has been pushed downwardly by tilting frame A, and in so doing increases the depthof shed G `so that `the shuttle mayfbe passed therethrough. This diagrammatic showing is exaggerated somewhat in order to illustrateffthe principle of the invention, it being apparent that there needs to be only a'slight increase in thev depth of the shed to make the `difference between' a blocked or a clear passage for the shuttle. As the weaver does not lhave" to stop to wind up the cloth on the clothv beam until a considerable width of the cloth has been woven, the speed of weaving is materially increased. At the same time, as the frame may be. tilted downwardlyftoward the weaver, the

distancebetween'the weaver and the point P is decreased so that the Weaver'is able to reach the point at which the shuttle is being passed through the shed and his vweaving operation is thus facilitated.

Although the invention has thus far been illustrated with respect to the reed and heddle being mounted upon the same vswords E, it is possibley to mount .the reed and heddles upon separate swords Kand L, as Vldiagrammatically indicated in Fig. 19. The reed, 20a in this instance functions to beat or lay up the weft while the heddles M can be secured in any position relative to the frame A so as to give the maximum shedv with respect .to the point toV which the cloth has grown.

It is apparent that by this invention I have constructed a hand loom which will produce cloths of 4'widths andpatterns not heretofore produced.A by hand looms, which is of inexpensive construction and compact enough so that it can be used. as a household'item and readily stored when not in use. i

8 reed and heddles for arcuate movement -through the plane of said frame, and means mounting said heddles for vertical movement in said supporting means. 'Y 2. A hand loom as in claim 1, said supporting means comprising a pair of swords, grooved blocks carried by said swords, said reed and heddles being mounted in the grooves and extending between said blocks, and means for adjustablyv mounting said heddles in said blocks.v

3. A hand loom as in claim 1, further comprising cam means for movingV said heddles to a centered position with 'respect to saidl reed upon actuating of saiud'supporting means for arcuate movement.

' 4. A loom comprising a weaving frame including a warp beamand a cloth beam joined by side rails, pivotal mounting means for said side rails whereby said frame is tiltable by alternately raising and depressing said warp and cloth beams, respectively; a combined reed and heddle of ralternate eyer and slot construction, means mounting said reed and heddle for standing substantially vertically and swingable towardr said cloth beam, said vreed and heddle when 'stand-` ing substantially verticallyv being nearer said warp beam then vto said cloth beam whereby alternate sheds of warp 'are formed when said frame is tilted, andthe eyes of said reed and heddle lying substantially in the plane of 'said frame when said reed and heddle is swung to a" positin'adjacent said "cloth beam and said cloth beam is slightlyy depressed whereby weft is beaten up substantially inthe plane of said frame. Y' f THOMAS H. CLACK.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED` sTAfms PATENTS l Number Name Date 65,997 :Browne June 25, 1867 459,784 Hill Sept. 22, 1891 604,804 Sturges May 31, 1898 688,500 Booze Dec. 10, 1901 1,214,948 Ojerholm Feb.' 6, 1917 1,335,163l Haag Mar. 30,V 1920 2,241,318A 4Robson May 6, 1941 2,257,455 .Clark Sept. 30, 1941` FOREIGN PATENTS Number lCountry Date* 69,010 Germany June 8, 1893 Germany .l- June 29, 1934- 

